Beginning adventure racers often ask me what type of bike is best to use in multi-sport events? What suspension is best? Gloves or no gloves? Which tire tread is optimal? Tubeless or tubes?
While I do have opinions on all those topics, the single best thing you can do to improve your riding is to switch to clipless pedals. Even if your mountain bike is 10 years old and weighs 35 pounds (like my buddy Don's Cannondale circa 1993!), you're better off spending $75 on upgrading to clipless than you are spending 10 times as much on a nice new bike that still has platform pedals. Seriously. Experienced riders might roll their eyes at this observation, but I think it's easy for newer bikers to get caught up in ounces or recovery drinks or fancy front forks instead of focussing on something so much more beneficial: clipless pedals. There are biomechanical advantages to clipless pedals that can really boost your power and stability on the bike.
If you're getting more into biking or adventure racing or any multi-sport events that include a bike, getting clipless pedals will make a big difference in your riding -- once the whole clipping in and, more importantly, clipping out becomes second nature to you. Practice a few weeks with them and you'll never go back.
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Training today: rest day